LTA Research
Senior Systems Safety Engineer (OH)
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Akron, Ohio
- Work setup
- Onsite
- Seniority
- Senior
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 3+ years
- Category
- Occupational safety
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor’s degree in systems, Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, or a related engineering discipline with 8+ years of experience; or
- Master's degree with 6+ years of experience; or
- PhD with 3+ years of experience.
- Broad mastery across subsystems and disciplines beyond the candidate's core area.
- Direct aerospace / aircraft systems experience, including taking systems through the certification lifecycle with airworthiness authorities (FAA / EASA) under ARP4754A, and serving as a technical SME
- Proven, hands-on experience conducting System Safety Assessments (SSA) and the associated safety analyses — FHA, PSSA, FMEA / FMECA, and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) to ARP4761, with results integrated i
- Expertise in system-of-systems architecture, interface definition, and end-to-end verification & integration for complex vehicle programs.
- Command of MBSE and requirements/verification tool chains (e.g., DOORS, Jama, Cameo/Rhapsody SysML) and analysis environments (MATLAB, Python, Simulink).
- Ability to define model architecture, fidelity, and digital-thread strategy and to establish model credibility and validation (VV&A) standards.
- Demonstrated leadership of cross-system root-cause analysis and of certification-oriented system-safety work.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver against demanding technical milestones — leading through influence and technical credibility rather than direct
- Strong mentorship and coaching skills, with a track record of developing engineers and growing overall team capability.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills across engineering, program leadership, suppliers, and regulatory authorities.
- Sound technical judgment and decisiveness that build trust, resolve conflict, and align teams under ambiguity.
Full description
LTA is seeking a Systems Safety Engineer to serve as a senior individual contributor and technical authority within the Systems Engineering function. Operating at the principal level, this engineer applies broad mastery across subsystems and disciplines beyond their core area to architect and validate new, complex system-of-systems and integration approaches where no legacy solution exists. The Principal Systems Engineer sets the overarching technical direction for a systems discipline, owns the system-level safety, verification, and certification strategy for a vehicle program or major system, and acts as a subject-matter expert during internal audits and regulatory interactions. This is a role for a proven technical leader who provides leadership and direction to multidisciplinary, integrated product teams, mentors and develops senior engineering staff, shapes program-defining architectures and drives the integration and certification of lighter-than-air flight vehicles.
Key Responsibilities
- Innovate system-safety approaches for high-stakes integration and certification and own the aircraft / system-level safety-assessment strategy.
- Conduct and own System Safety Assessments (SSA) and the supporting analyses — Functional Hazard Assessment (FHA), Preliminary System Safety Assessment (PSSA), FMEA / FMECA, and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) per ARP4754A / ARP4761.
- Architect and validate new, complex system-of-systems and integration approaches where no legacy approach can be drawn upon; establish architectures that become the program standard and reduce cost or schedule.
- Apply Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE): Apply MBSE methods with tools like Cameo/MagicDraw to support system development activities, including requirements analysis, system design, and interface definition.
- Architect major, long-term system programs — full vehicle system architecture, Iron Bird integration, and avionics / flight-controls integration — and define the overall verification and integration strategy for a vehicle program or major system.
- Support system-level certification strategy and means-of-compliance approach for a vehicle program, defining the certification basis for airworthiness (in accordance with ARP4754A).
- Serve as the primary technical Subject Matter Expert (SME) during internal audits and regulatory interactions; own certification artifacts, compliance evidence, and verification-by-analysis credit toward the certification basis.
- Develop and maintain the system certification plan and coordinate certification deliverables across subsystems, applying DO-178C / DO-254 / MIL-STD-882 as applicable to establish airworthiness of software, complex hardware, and system safety.
- Provide technical leadership and direction to multidisciplinary, integrated product teams — aligning mechanical, electrical, software, and test engineers around shared architecture, interface, and verification goals.